Telecoms: Rwanda firm to sell MTN stake

THE investment arm of Rwanda’s ruling party is selling its 20 percent stake in MTN RwandaCell, a unit of the South African telecoms group, in an initial public offering (IPO) that aims to raise about 28 billion francs (R471 million). MTN would become just the third Rwandan company to be listed on the local bourse, where trading began in 2011. Crystal Ventures, the Rwandan Patriotic Front party’s investment firm, said shares were priced at 105 francs each and that the offer would close on June 5. “We’re planning to raise about 28 billion Rwandan francs and everybody is eligible (to buy shares),” Jack Kayonga, the executive chairman of Crystal Ventures, said at the launch of the IPO yesterday. Crystal Ventures also has interests in construction, real estate development, agriculture, aviation, security services and engineering services. The two companies currently listed on Rwanda’s exchange are brewer Bralirwa and Bank of Kigali. – Reuters